TYLER Brodie, the grandson of well–known Euroa locals John and Lyn Sargood and Tom and Shirley Brodie, has become celebrated for his work raising funds for Movember over the years.
Movember is a month–long annual fundraiser that involves growing a moustache and raising money for different health causes specifically impacting men including suicide, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.
Born in Benalla and now living in Shepparton, Mr Brodie (known by many as "T–BRO") has been participating in the men's health charity initiative since 2015 after losing his best friend to suicide.
The efforts of "T–BRO's Movember" have been praised in the communities of Benalla and Shepparton in the years since he began fundraising, with sausage sizzles and merchandise playing a huge role in raising critical funds for the charity.
After getting the attention of Benalla and Shepparton, Mr Brodie now wants to make the region where his extended family is from involved.
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"My family is born and raised in Euroa and I would love to get the community involved in the fundraising," he said.
"I've spoken to my grandparents and it'd be great to have them and their friends aware of the work we are doing."
Mr Brodie's motivation to begin fundraising and spreading awareness developed after losing a dear friend.
"In 2013, I had a best mate that was like a brother commit suicide," he said.
"That really struck me and after talking with people and doing some research, I found out about Movember.
"I've been focusing on the mental health aspect of Movember and raising funds for that cause."
Mr Brodie has now raised $8000 from different initiatives over the years and hopes to continue growing that to support mental health charities.
"We started with a sausage sizzle in 2015 outside a local woollies," he said.
"Since then there has been a lot of growth and we've found other ways to spread awareness and raise money.
"After COVID hit, it was a lot harder to hold the sausage sizzle but I was determined to keep involved.
"I decided to do a raffle instead, with local businesses helping out and donating prizes.
"I've been getting merchandise organised too, getting stubby holders, t–shirts and hats."
Movember means a lot more than just raising money to Mr Brodie, with him finding his merchandise has already begun starting important conversations with strangers about mental health.
"I wear my t–shirt or hat in the shop I work in a lot," he said.
"The moustache is certainly a conversation starter too.
"A lot of people come up and approach me to ask questions and we usually just have a chat.
"After COVID, being in isolation and now the floods, it feels especially important to have those conversations and check how people are doing.
"I'm glad that it's been able to spread some awareness and hopefully help a few people out."
After raising $2500 last year, T–BRO's Movember campaign has raised $625 so far this month with hopes for more.
Anyone interested in checking out the campaign or donating money can find it at: https://movember.com/m/tylerbrodie23.
